When you are planning a wedding on a budget, you will realize very soon that food is an area where there are some substantial savings to be made. While this seems an extremely attractive option to ensure that you stay within the budget, you don’t really want your guests to leave the place feeling disappointed about what they were served. The entire idea is to maintain a balance between what you serve and the budget.
Tips to Reduce the Overall Catering Budget
If you are planning your wedding during off season time, you will get lucky with a lot of budget options for catering. All the caterers start to charge higher rates during the wedding season. Weekends also work out to be more expensive than weekdays. Reaching out to new caterers and vendors may get you good rates as they are eager to make their mark in the niche. Make sure that you check the food quality and the taste before you confirm anything or pay up the advance.
The most expensive of all items of all is the alcohol. Think about whether you can avoid serving champagne and wine with the food. If you feel that you do not want to host an event without serving alcohol, make sure that you do not offer an open bar option. Check with the venue and you may be allowed to get your own alcohol; an option that works out far cheaper than ordering it in-house.
Look at various menus and decide on one that is not too fancy. Obviate items like sashimi, French onion soup and caviar from the list of items and choose to serve regular, but well cooked, food. Skip an additional dessert and stick to the wedding cake.
Plan your wedding reception at a non-meal time and you will not have to serve a full course meal. Lunches tend to be cheaper than dinner. If you want to avoid meal time the time between 3pm and 8pm is the best. Elaborate brunch options between 11am and 12noon can sometimes work out to be as expensive as a meal.
Specific Menu Ideas for Wedding Catering
Choosing to opt for finger foods is one of the best ideas for a wedding reception. Finger foods are easy to serve and they are easy to eat for the guests too. With the kind of money that you save on food by opting finger foods, you can serve as much alcohol as you like. Choose a good chef and the hor’dourves will look and taste good.
Options for menu that you can choose for an evening of finger foods and fun include chips and dips, vegetable platters, cheese and crackers, oysters, egg rolls, sausages and tea sandwiches. Make sure that you have the option of paper plates in case someone wants to fill up and a large amount of paper napkins and tissues for people to use.
The trend is also moving towards decadent desserts where all that is served in the wedding reception is an array of delectable desserts. You can choose from a wide range of macaroons, tarts, cookies, pies, biscotti, ice cream and pastries. Typically such a menu is served between 1pm and 2pm or post dinner time.
A salad bar is another innovative idea for those who promote fitness and are fanatic about it. Create a typical restaurant salad bar counter and people can create their own salads with gelatins, pasta, vegetables and salad sauces.
You can go really low on your wedding catering budget by opting for a cake and punch wedding. Throw in some candies, nuts and cookies to add variety.
Choosing a wedding caterer may mean speaking with your friends and acquaintances to find caterers that are active locally. Choose from good ones like St. John Catering. Or check out the knot, a place where you can get options for wedding caterers in specific cities.
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